Garin drier



B. F. HADDIX GRAIN DRIER Oct. 9, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 20,1959 0 v o o o a n a Q o a o Q 0 0 O I 0 Q A c u? 0 a Q BY m vIN V ENTOR. fizzizz'x.

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Oct. 9, 1962 B. F. HADDlX 3,057,080

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B. F- HADDlX Oct. 9, 1962 GRAIN DRIER 3 Sheets-sheaf 5 Filed July 20,1959 2 4% INVENTOR.

a 211 )7 flfizzzx. E 46 BY 4'4 PP, fir wsvvr/sq United States 3,057,080GRAIN DRER Bud F. Haddix, 38 E. Willow, Monroe, Mich. Filed July 20,1959, er. No. 828,278

1 Claim. (Cl. 34-174) This invention relates generally to agriculturalequipment and more particularly to a novel grain drier having asubstantially greater productive capacity than grain driers heretoforeknown or used.

Grain which is to be stored for long periods of time must be thoroughlydried prior to storing so that it will not spoil. To accomplish thislarge batch grain driers have been developed which are usually locatedadjacent grain elevators so that the grain can be dried in a matter ofhours and transferred immediately to the storage elevator. Such graindriers generally comprise a perforate enclosure for supporting aquantity or batch of grain, and means for forcing heated air into theenclosure and around the grain to rapidly dry the same. A completedrying cycle for grain in such a device comprises a loading phase, adrying phase and an unloading phase, and the time required for thecomplete drying cycle is the sum of the times required to complete thesuccessive phases of the drying operation.

Grain driers now in use employ a screw-type grain discharge or unloadingmechanism to move grain out of the drying enclosure upon completion of adrying cycle. Grain driers are also loaded by similar mechanisms. Suchscrew-type mechanisms move grain from the drying enclosure at therelatively slow rate of, for example, to bushels per minute. Also, suchscrewtype mechanisms are subject to wear due to the abrasive nature ofdry grain and, therefore, must be replaced at frequent intervals, suchas about every 300,000 bushels. The cost of such a screw mechanism for alarge grain drier amounts to $125.00 and, in addition, the grain drierwill have to be out of operation when a worn-outscrew mechanism isplaced. While the presently known and used grain driers do effectivelyand rapidly dry grain, they are extremely inefficient insofar as theloading and unloading phase of the cycle is concerned. For instance, ina 1,000 bushel grain drier, it normally takes minutes to load the graininto the drier, 120 minutes to dry the grain and 30 minutes to unloadthe grain; thus a 180 minute cycle is required to dry 1,000 bushels ofgrain. Most grain driers are operated 24 hours a day so that only eightbatches of grain can be dried per day with presently existing graindriers.

At the present time, the owner or operator of the grain drier receives afee of approximately 10 cents per bushel for drying grain so that thetotal income from a 1,000 bushel grain drier is about $800.00 per day.Obviously, if more grain could be dried in a twenty-four hour period,the operator of a grain drier could make considerably more money andsuch an improved drier would have substantial advantage over presentlyknown and used driers.

The grain drier of this invention has, therefore, been developed tomaterially reduce the grain drying cycle and to provide a drier whichhas greater durability than presently known and used driers, withoutadding to the cost of the same. The grain drier of this inventionemploys a novel discharge or unloading mechanism which can be employedto both load or unload 1,000 bushels of grain 3,057,080 Patented Oct. 9,1962 "ice in one minute. Thus, with the drier of this invention, thetotal drying cycle is one minute to load, minutes to dry and one minuteto unload, so that, based on a twenty-four hour operating day, a graindrier operator can process enough more grain to increase his dailyincome $140.00 over the income produced by presently known dryingdevices. That is, with a 1,000 bushel grain drier of this invention, 58minutes per cycle can be saved as compared with the drying cycle time ofknown grain driers, thus permitting more batches of grain to be driedper day, and materially increasing the operating revenue for the graindrier operator. In addition, with the grain drier of this invention, itis not necessary to shut down the grain drier for periodic replacementof the loading and unloading mechanisms, thus saving the grain drieroperator the cost of new mechanisms and the loss of time required toreplace such mechanisms. The aforementioned advantages have beenachieved while simultaneously providing loading and unloading mechanismswhich will operate properly under all climatic and environmentalconditions.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improvedgrain drier which employs an improved and novel loading and unloadingmechanism which materially reduces the drying cycle of grain andenhances the commercial value and return to the grain drier owner oroperator.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a grain drierof the aforementioned type which is exceptionally durable inconstruction and which may be operated for an extremely long period oftime under variable climatic and environmental conditions withoutrequiring any adjustment or replacement of the loading and unloadingmechanism.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a grain drierof the aforementioned type which is as economical to purchase aspresently known grain driers and has the aforementioned advantages overpresently known grain driers.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art from a study of the following specificationwherein reference is made to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exterior perspective view of a grain drier;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a grain clearing valve inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a grain drier, in operativeassociation with a wet and dry storage bin and partially broken away toshow the disposition of the clearing valves;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the grain drier of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the line 5-5 ofFIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the line 66 ofFIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 1, a grain drier 10 comprises an elongated enclosure11 having an outer shell 12 defined by a bottom wall 13 of a V-shapedcross section, a top wall 14 of inverted V-shaped cross section and apair of spaced arcuate side walls 15 and 16 that extend be tweenopposite edges of the bottom wall 13 and top wall 14. The outer shell 12of the enclosure 11 is formed from a perforate material, for example,perforate steel plate, so as to provide for the passage of heated airtherethrough, as will be described.

The enclosure 11 is provided with a pair of spaced end walls 17 and 18formed from a plurality of imperforate plates, preferably steel, joinedtogether and to the outer shell 12 as by welding or riveting. The outershell 12 is laterally reinforced by a plurality of spaced externallydisposed ribs 19 that are secured to the outer shell 12 as by welding.The enclosure 11 is supported with the longitudinal axis thereofhorizontally disposed by a generally rectangular base frame 20 and aplurality of upstanding supports 21. The ribs 19, frame 21 andupstanding supports 21 are preferably made from angle iron having anL-shaped cross section and are secured to the enclosure 11 and to oneanother, as by welding or rivet- An air heating unit 24, which may begas or oil fired, is mounted externally of the enclosure 11 on the endWall 18. The heating unit 24 is secured to the end wall 18 as by aplurality of tie rods 25 that rigidly maintain the heating unit withrespect to the end Wall 18. A blower 26 is mounted externally of theheating unit 24 to force air, at outside ambient temperature, throughthe heating unit and into the enclosure 11, as will be described.Suitable controls 28 are provided for the heating unit 24 and blower 26.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the enclosure 11 is provided with an inner shell30 of perforate material, preferably steel plate, similar to thematerial of the outer shell 12. The inner shell 30 has substantially thesame cross-sectional configuration as the outer shell 12 but is ofsubstantially smaller cross-sectional area than the outer shell 12. Theinner shell 30 extends between and is secured to the end walls 18 and 17as by welding or rivets.

The inner shell 30 is spaced from the outer shell 12 so as to define anannular drying chamber 31 therebetween. Because of the configuration ofthe inner shell 30 and outer shell 12, the walls of the enclosure 31 allslope with respect to a horizontal plane and therefore facilitategravity flow of grain into and from the drying enclosure 31. The innershell 31} also defines a plenum chamber 32 for the uniform dispersal ofheated air around the grain supported in the drying chamber 31.

The end wall 18 is provided with a central aperture 33 of circularconfiguration for the admittance of heated air from the heating unit 24.The heated air is forced through the aperture 33 and into the plenumchamber 32 by the blower 26 mounted rearwardly of the heating unit 24.The heated air then passes through the inner shell 30 into the dryingchamber 31, where it absorbs moisture from the grain, and then outwardlythrough the outer shell 12 of the enclosure 11.

Grain is gravity fed into the annular drying chamber 31 of the enclosure11 through a hopper 34. After the drying chamber 31 is suitably loaded,heated air is forced into the plenum chamber 32, to initiate the dryingphase of the drying cycle.

In accordance with the present invention, a valve 35 comprising anelongated tubular member 36 is employed to clear the drying chamber 31upon the completion of the drying phase of a drying cycle. The valve 35is normally disposed within and substantially closes a rectangularorifice 38 that extends the full length of the bottom wall 13 betweenthe end walls 18 and 19 of the drying chamber 31 at the lowermost pointthereof. The orifice 38 is defined by a pair of spaced inverted L-shapedseat members 39 and 40 that are secured to the bottom wall 13 inparallel relation as by welding. The adjacent sides of the seat members39 and 40 are disposed in parallel, spaced relationship so as to definethe discharge orifice 38. The seat members extend the entire length ofthe drying chamber 31 as does the orifice 38. The tubular 36 is normallybiased downwardly by its own weight and the weight of the grain withinthe drying chamber 31.

To clear the drying chamber 31 upon the completion of the drying phaseof a drying cycle, the tubular member 36 is biased upwardly with respectto the orifice 38 by a plurality of hydraulic actuators or jacks 41 and42. The hydraulic actuators 41 and 42 are supported with respect to theframe 20 by a pair of L-shaped brackets 43 and 44, respectively, thatare secured to the frame 20 as by riveting or welding. Hydraulicpressure is developed by a hydraulic pump 45 that may be driven by, forexample, an electric motor 46. Suitable hydraulic lines 48 extendbetween the pump 45 and the hydraulic actuators 41 and 42 to provide forthe passage of hydraulic fluid therebetween.

The longitudinally extending tubular member 36 is provided with threespaced vertically oriented tubular bearings 49, 5t} and 51 that aresecured to the tubular member 36, as by welding. Three verticallyextending pins 52, 54 and 55 are secured to the frame 20* of the drier11), as by welding, in complementary spaced relationship with thetubular bearings 49, 50 and 51, respectively, so as to be receivabletherein to guide the tubular member 36 for reciprocating translation ina generally vertical plane. A pair of stop members 57 and 58 are securedto the end walls 18 and 19, respectively, and are engageable with theopposite ends of the tubular member 36 to limit upward displacement ofthe tubular member 36 under the bias of the hydraulic actuators 41 and42 to thereby limit and define the open position of the valve 35.

Referring to FIG. 3, the grain drier 10 is shown in association with awet grain storage bin 60 and a dry storage bin 61. The drier 10, Wetstorage bin 60 and dry storage bin 61 are supported by a plurality ofupstanding vertical columns 62. The wet storage bin 60 is related withthe enclosure 11 of the grain drier 10 so as to feed grain into thedrying chamber 31 thereof by gravity. A valve 65, similar inconstruction to the valve 35, described hereinbefore, is disposedbetween the wet storage bin 60 and drying chamber 31 of the drier 10 soas to provide for the rapid filling of the drying chamber 31.

The dry storage bin 61 is disposed below the grain drier 10 for theacceptance of dried grain upon completion of the drying phase of adrying cycle. The storage bin 61 preferably has a capacity slightlygreater than the capacity of the drying chamber 31 so as to insure theacceptance of the entire portion of grain dried in one drying cycle.

From the foregoing description it should be apparent that the novelgrain clearing valve 35 which extends the full length of the dryingchamber 31 and opens the orifice 38 in its entirety, upon upwarddisplacement thereof, facilitates the rapid clearing of dry grain fromthe drying enclosure 31 upon completion of the drying phase of a dryingcycle and thereby materially shortens the grain drying cycle.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the inventionherein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated,it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible tomodification, variation and change without departing from the properscope or fair meaning of the subjoined claim.

What is claimed is:

A grain drier comprising an elongated annular grain drying chamberdefined by spaced longitudinally extending perforate inner and outerwalls, said longitudinally extending perforate inner walls defining aplenum chamber centrally of said drying chamber, an imperforate end wallat each end of said drying and plenum chambers, an air heating means atone end of said plenum chamber, means for creating a pressuredifferential between said plenum chamber and said drying chamber wherebyheated air flows through said drying chamber, means defining anelongated orifice extending the full length of said drying chamber atthe lower extremity thereof, a tubular grain discharge valve within saiddrying chamber and normally closing said orifice; a plurality ofhydraulic jacks disposed at the lower extremity of said drying chamberfor moving said valve in translation inwardly of said drying chamber toopen said orifice to permit gravity flow of grain outwardly of saiddrying chamber, a plurality of tubular bearings extending diametricallythrough said valve, a plurality of vertically extending pins Within saidbearings in telescoping relationship and fixedly mounted with respect tosaid means defining an elongated orifice, and a rigid valve stop securedto each of said end walls to limit upward movement of said dischargevalve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Behret a1. Jan. 26, Dienst Mar. 9, Stockmar Dec. 11, Davis Sept. 7, ArndtDec. 4, Pfening Nov. 4,

FOREIGN PATENTS Finland Aug. 15,

